Tx2110us windows 7 WLAN disappears

Question

I've installed Windows 7 Ultimate x86 on my machine. Been able to get pretty much everything working, but the Broadcom WLAN isn't consistent. Sometimes when I reboot it disappears! Can't see it in Device Manager at all, like it's not even connected!
At first I thought it was a conflict as it seemed to happen when I installed other drivers. So I wiped the HD, did a CLEAN install of 7, got it working, installed the Windows Update for Broadcom, rebooted, AND IT DISAPPEARED. So no other drivers have been installed other than stock Windows and IT STILL DISAPPEARED. I rebooted into safe mode with networking to see if maybe it would appear, got nothing. So I rebooted and when I logged in, IT CAME BACK! So I rebooted again without changing ANYTHING, and guess what? NO WIRELESS CARD. Not in the device manager, not listed under Network, not listed under unknown, NOT LISTED. Win 7 just seems to see it whenever it feels like it!
Does anyone have a clue?
I should also add that after dealing with this for a day I installed Windows XP, during which I had absolutely no problems installing and connecting the WLAN, so I'm pretty confident that it's just 7!
Message Edited by romanonly on 11-06-2009 06:02 PM

Answer 1

Galt,
First of all, you need to go into your advanced power settings and lower your processor usage to 50%. I have my "Power Saver" setting at 50% and my "Balanced" setting at 80%. I use the "Power Saver" 90% of the time, only using "Balanced" when I work in Photoshop. Doing it this way will prevent your notebook from overheating and circumvent the fact that HP DOESN'T KNOW JACK ABOUT SYSTEM COOLING. Running my machine at 100% will overheat it EVERY TIME and since HP is too retarded to figure out how to set up an overheat warning the machine clicks off and everything you are working on is lost. These machines are CLEARLY defective according to LOTS OF PEOPLE. Scaling your processor back will hopefully extend the life of your machine, since HP refuses to do good business and take care of those of us they have profited from. Using "Power Saver" mode has kept my machine working for about 2 years now, where most people are claiming they have problems within 6 months out of warranty, some even earlier. (if anyone at HP has doubts about this then I'd like them to explain why when I ran WinXP on my machine it wouldn't run for more than 20 minutes without overheating and turning off, it does not have processor scaling, it uses the processor to it's fullest, AND I'm *very touchy about my equipment* so my notebook is in EXCELLENT condition)
You can access these settings by clicking the battery icon in the system tray and clicking  "More Power Options", then "Change Plan Settings", then "Change Advanced Power Settings". Look for "Processor Power Management" in the dialog that appears and set the max accordingly.
Make sure when you run it at 80% you use a cooling pad. In fact, just elevating it to gain more air clearance seems to make enough difference to be worth it.
Secondly, my wireless card is not damaged, that was my first concern, so I tested it with Windows XP and it works PERFECTLY. 20 reboots in a row, not one single hiccup. More than likely yours is not broken, Windows 7 just doesn't see it. I went for 2 solid weeks after installing Win7 without seeing my wireless appear while waiting for a USB wireless in the mail. When the USB wireless arrived I got it working, no problem. One time when I rebooted with the wireless card plugged in the right side USB of my tx2110us my internal wireless re-appeared! It worked for about 2-3 reboots and then disappeared again. I don't think it's a coincidence that it happened to come back THE SAME DAY I got my new external card after not working for 2 weeks SOLID. Also, if your card is damaged, then why would a reformat fix the problem temporarily? I re-installed 7 four or more times when this issue started and had the same results EVERY SINGLE TIME. Works for a few reboots and then *POOF*, non-existant. Obviously it's just a hardware compatibility issue and HP needs to update some specific drivers, probably for the card, maybe bios, who knows, who cares, it's their responsibility to fix it if they claim they'll support Windows 7. Luckily for you and I the tx2000 is on the list of machines that will be supported driver wise for Windows 7, but who knows, it could be a year or two before they get around to it since they're too busy devising new ways to deny that they have sold hundreds of people defective products. At the moment the only Win7 driver for this machine is for reverting back to Vista. Why anyone would wanna go back to that P.O.S. is far beyond my comprehension.
I couldn't find many people with this *exact* issue or a solution for it, so I swore that if I found a solution then I would post it here. I've also posted in windows7forums, sevenforums, microsoft's technet forums, and tabletpcreview. None of these communities had a viable solution, but if/when I find it then I will post it in all of those locations, I hope you do the same, and good luck!
Message Edited by WendyM on 11-25-2009 07:34 PM
Message Edited by romanonly on 11-25-2009 09:51 PM